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A quarter of global economic growth will come from the region in the next five years, even excluding China.

• Read the report
• Inquiry: Export led growth
• Business and Trade Committee

Over the next five years, £7 trillion of new wealth will be created across Asia-Pacific – excluding China: a quarter of global forecast growth and more than twice the entire GDP of the United Kingdom. Evidence to the Committee described selling into companies in Asia as “effectively selling into the world”. 

By 2030, two-thirds of the global middle class will live in Asia: a huge market for goods and services that play to UK strengths in areas like education, financial services, health, and luxury goods.  

But in a report recently (29 June 2025), the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee warns the UK is punching below its weight, relative to both its capabilities and the size of these markets. The UK share of exports to the region has been stuck at around 12% since the 1990s. The UK can and should do more to support specific sectors that are driving the growth in these markets: digital trade, luxury goods, defence, and green tech.  

New trade restrictions in the region – especially against those outside - have been rising: from around 5 per month last decade to more than 20 per month in 2024.  But through evidence in Parliament, and a series of high-level meetings in Japan earlier this year, the Committee has found that the UK is now poised for a “breakthrough moment” for trade with Asia.  

Chair quote

Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Committee, recently said

“There are moments in history when the tectonic plates of power begin to shift. This is one of them. In the next five years, £7 trillion of new wealth will be created across Asia-Pacific—more than twice the entire GDP of the United Kingdom. By 2030, two-thirds of the world’s middle class will live there. This is not just a commercial opportunity. It is a strategic turning point—a test of whether Britain has the courage and clarity to compete in a new economic age, or whether we allow the future to be written without us.”

“We are trusted. We are respected. And we are needed. But goodwill alone will not secure our place in the Asian century. That’s why the Business and Trade Committee sets out five urgent moves: deepen our defence-industrial partnerships to embed UK expertise in key supply chains; harness our soft power with a joined-up strategy across embassies, universities, the BBC and the British Council; lead on digital trade through CPTPP and DEPA, because data flow is the lifeblood of our services exports; power Asia’s green transition with a Green Trade Strategy; and above all, deliver diplomacy that works—by being present, embedded, and permanent in Asia’s new growth corridors.”

“The window is open-but it will not stay open. If we fail to act, others will fill the vacuum. If we rise to the challenge, Britain can be the partner of choice in a fast-changing world. Now is the moment. Not for retreat. Not for delay. But for resolve. Because in the contest for the future, Britain must not be a spectator. We must be a champion.”

CPTPP accession, bilateral FTAs, enhanced trade dialogues and rare defence alliances bring strategic advantage and offer the UK significant leverage to drive down barriers including tariffs, weak intellectual property enforcement and diverging digital standards.  

Five-part strategic approach

But Free Trade Agreements alone will not unlock these markets. The Committee says Government must now adopt a five-part strategic approach to realise the full commercial potential of Asia-Pacific for the UK: 

1. Deepen defence-industrial partnerships. This week’s National Security Strategy rightly recognised the Indo-Pacific as a core strategic priority. The region is both the engine room of global growth and the frontline of geopolitical contest. In Japan, Australia, and Singapore, Britain is not just a trading partner but a trusted defence ally. The UK should build on existing cooperation to embed UK industrial capabilities into regional supply chains.    
2. Leverage the UK’s global soft power in higher education, research collaboration, the creative industries and cultural diplomacy with a joined-up approach that links embassies, universities, the British Council and the BBC to turn long-term influence into trade.  
3. Accelerate digital trade interoperability. ASEAN’s digital economy alone will hit $1 trillion by 2030. But rising data protectionism threatens to fragment the market. The UK can use the CPTPP, bilateral agreements and plurilateral frameworks to remove regulatory friction, ensure data flows and secure data-driven trade access. The brand new Trade Strategy has backed the Committee’s recommendation to join more digital trade agreements in the region 
4. Power Asia’s green industrial transformation. Half the world’s emissions come from this region – this is where net zero will be won or lost. Demand for offshore wind, green hydrogen, and carbon finance is soaring. Britain needs a Green Trade Strategy to take its growing, green industrial strengths to those growing markets.  
5. Deliver diplomacy that works, with sustained senior-level political engagement and a diplomatic presence on the ground that is resourced commensurate with the opportunity in the region. In line with this recommendation, Thursday’s Trade Strategy asks UK Trade Commissioners around the world to focus on business priorities more. 

Further information

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